Diamondbacks Bullpen

[tmar]

We've discussing SP into the dirt so how about a BP thread.

My thought is to keep Vizcaino and maybe offer arbitration to Julio and look to trade him if that's doable, if not let him go.

We have Pena, Medders, Lyon, that should be OK for next year. I would advocate Cruz starting in the pen and being available for a SP if someone goes on the DL.

I would say Aquino & Valverde need to come back to form in order to make the team.

If we go with relatively cheap SP on the market, like Levski's recommendation of Padilla, that would leave us with enough money to make some BP upgrades.

[Oden]

SP & RP go hand in hand. If the SP improves, the pen improves by association. The arms they have in the pen are fine. Avoid overuse and avoid misuse and the pen will not be a concern. Can those 2 things be avoided with BM as manager?

[Dangerfield]

One thing, during the Padre series that stuck out, was how they kept going inside, brushing guys off the plate, without hitting or threatening the hitter, then going back outside. We never do that. If Pena especially, was doing that, his control on the outter half would be that much more effective.

We have a lot of nice bullpen arms, but the pitchers, don't pitch, and its been that way for the entire existence of the organization, out of the bullpen. Same old tired power arms. Meddars has been the closet thing to pitching out of the bullpen, we've had at times, and that's because he doesn't have the classic power arm of course.
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My wife is always trying to get rid of me. The other day she told me to put the garbage out. I said to her I already did. She told me to go and keep an eye on it

[charlie]

The "arms" in the pen may be fine but the heads associated with these arms are far from it. Lyon, Aquino, Julio, for example, may have great arms, good stuff, but they don't show the mental makeup to be consistantly effective pitchers, especially in crunch situations.

Medders was over-used this year just like Brenly over-used Villarreal. I often wonder if that wasn't because he followed Melvin's advice too much.

Biff seems far too set on trying to find the proper "roles" for these guys instead of concentrating on winning ballgames, IMO. He ought to impress on them that their "role" is to get batters out and it doesn't make one helleva lot of difference if that comes in the 6th or the 8th inning. You go in the ballgame and you get the hitters OUT. Period.

Of course, good old Biff seems a lot more concerned with not putting a dent in an ego than in managing his pitching properly.

He's the one who should go.
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formerly ROF

[Bob A]

Does anyone think if he put his mind to it and started preparing now, Cruz could possibly be closer material by next season?